Auburn University’s Executive MBA Program: Investing in The Future

EMBA students attend in-person classes during residency week.

Catherine Budzynski has always enjoyed expanding her knowledge and skill set. As an ambitious leader who seeks out challenges, she saw getting her MBA as a great way to grow her capabilities and achieve her career goals faster. When she began Auburn’s Executive MBA (EMBA) program in 2020, she was working as the head of legal for Aflac Ventures in Columbus, Georgia. In 2022, the same year she graduated, she left that job and joined Ohmium as their chief legal officer and first in-house lawyer.

Catherine Budzynski

“Through Auburn’s incredible EMBA program, I was encouraged to think more broadly and take calculated risks,” Catherine said. “It gave me the necessary business acumen to take a leap of faith to leave a solid, Fortune 150 company and pivot into a new industry working for a late-stage startup with a passion for helping companies meet ambitious green goals. I use the tools I learned every day.”

Since graduating, Catherine has taken her role as a female leader to new levels. She has been featured in several legal publications and awarded the 2024 Career Mastered Women’s Leadership in Action Award for demonstrating outstanding leadership and making significant contributions to America’s diverse culture and heritage. She has also been recognized as a Southeastern Legal Distinguished Leader. In a recent announcement, she was selected as a finalist for the In-House Counsel of the Year award, which is given to lawyers from six Southeast states.

In her time at Ohmium, she completed a $250 million Series C fundraising, one of the largest globally for the year, and has grown her team to seven attorneys and legal professionals, all of whom are also women.

Catherine Budzynski, sixth from bottom left, EMBA ’22 class photo on the creed steps, Friday, Aug. 13, 2021, at the Harbert College of Business in Auburn, Ala. | Photo: Julie Bennett

Auburn’s program empowers professionals to consider their current roles from a different perspective to broaden the possibilities of their career paths. Catherine knew she didn’t want to look at being a lawyer only in the traditional sense. “A great lawyer is a business partner first,” Catherine says, “They can’t just state the problem, they also have to provide practical solutions to the problem. Every solution should have the end business goal in mind. To do that, lawyers need to develop their business acumen to really understand every way that their company or their client makes a dollar.”

Having this degree helped advance my career by propelling me into the C-suite much earlier than anticipated. Catherine Budzynski

The Auburn EMBA program is designed for working professionals who want to grow in their current careers and further develop their skills. The program’s structure allows students to use the flexibility of online learning without sacrificing the community of a collegiate experience. By offering a hybrid program with both online and in-person residencies, the program gives students options, by offering a hybrid program with both online and in-person residencies, the program gives students options allowing them the space and support to advance their careers or pivot to a new one.

Catherine Budzynski

“Having this degree helped advance my career by propelling me into the C-suite much earlier than anticipated,” Catherine said. “I credit both my professors and the unique cohort model for this. I have made lifelong friends in industries and fields I would never have otherwise met and have continued to reach out to them for guidance and advice.”

The cohort model that Auburn offers is one of the program’s strongest and most popular features. When a student joins the program, they become part of a cohort—a group of professionals from all different walks of life and working backgrounds, who move through the program together. They become a network, learning from each other and supporting each other throughout the course. Catherine’s cohort spanned people in their 30s to 70s and covered industries like insurance, politics, food and beverage, financial services, consulting, medical, non-profits, and various branches of the military.

According to Catherine, the program structure is the magic.

EMBA students attend classes during residency week – Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. | Photo: Julie Bennett

“Being in class together, working on group projects and having social time is what makes the cohort model so special. I enjoyed talking to my classmates and seeing how they think. Over dinner, someone would inevitably come up with an issue that’s facing their industry and then three or four people would throw out solutions, building off of each other. Each person’s unique background contributed to the conversation and led to interesting conversations that lay the foundation for future business plans.”

Auburn University understands that career development and leadership looks different for each individual. As you grow and change, so do your goals.

In addition to its EMBA program, the Harbert College of Business offers full-time and online MBA programs, as well as a physicians’ executive MBA.

For more information about Auburn University’s EMBA program, contact gradex@auburn.edu or schedule a 30-minute consultation here.

 See Catherine’s profile spotlight from Auburn.

See profiles from other Auburn MBA graduates.

Catherine Colman, on her complete career change

Dr. Peter Armstrong, on focusing on the business side of practice

Samantha Southerland, on seeking EMBA while raising a family and working full-time.